Qatar Airways announced Friday here it would start flights
between southern China's Guangzhou city and Doha beginning from
March 31 to further cement its position in one of the world's
fastest growing economies.
This made Doha-based Qatar Airways the first airline in the Gulf
area to provide flights linking Guangzhou, the capital city of
Guangdong Province, with a population of nearly 10 million.
It will operate four non-stop flights to Guangzhou per week
using Airbus A330s, said the company.
Qatar Airways now has flights to China's Beijing, Shanghai and
Hong Kong.
"Since we entered the China market four years ago, we have
gradually introduced new routes and increased capacity into this
exciting country," said Akbar Al Baker, CEO of the company.
"China is, and will continue to be, a strategically vital part
of Qatar Airways' expansion plans and no serious airline can afford
to ignore a country with such a thriving and buoyant economy," he
added.
(Xinhua News Agency January 26, 2008)